Aircraft takeoff
A airplane just after takeoff [Representational Image].Pixabay

Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) on Wednesday night announced that Aviation Turbine Fuel (ATF) prices for the month of December had fallen about 3 percent. The fall in jet fuel prices comes after two months of price rise. 

Aviation fuel now costs Rs 48,379 per kilolitre in Delhi and Rs 47, 601 per kilolitre in Mumbai. The highest price amongst the four metros is in Kolkata at Rs 53,011 per kilolitre. The fuel price for international carriers has been fixed at $502 per kilolitre. It was $530 per kilolitre for the last month (November), IOC said in the statement. 

ATF prices account for nearly 30-35 percent of operating costs for airlines and directly impact their profit margins. The prices differ in different cities.

Aviation Turbine Fuel (ATF) is dispensed from specially designed refuelers in two ways.

"ATF is pumped into an aircraft by two methods: Over wing and Underwing. Overwing fuelling is used on smaller planes, helicopters, and piston-engine aircraft and is similar to automobile fuelling - one or more fuel ports are opened and fuel is pumped in with a conventional pump. Underwing fuelling, also called single-point is used on larger aircraft," according to IOC, a state-run refiner and retailer.

The cut in jet fuel prices is seen to have impacted the shares of domestic carriers. The InterGlobe Aviation stock was trading at Rs 849.10 at around 10 a.m. on Thursday, down 1.16 percent from its previous close. Similarly, shares of Jet Airways and SpiceJet were down at Rs 384.70  and Rs 61.85 apiece, around the same time, down 3.18 percent and 3.89 percent respectively on the Bombay Stock Exchange. 

The IOC stock was also down 1.38 percent at Rs 301.55 on Thursday on the BSE.

The revised ATF prices, new and Old (per kilolitre) are:

Cities December (per KL) November (per KL)
Delhi Rs 48, 379 Rs 50, 260
Kolkata Rs 53, 011 Rs 54, 921
Mumbai Rs 47, 601 Rs 49, 482
Chennai Rs 50, 993 Rs 52,940